Try Cloth Diapers Risk Free

Sunday, March 7, 2010

The Cloth Diaper Report-Spreading Awareness About Cloth Diapering

I am thrilled at the opportunity to share a little bit about myself and my blog here at The Cloth Diaper Whisperer. For those of you who don’t know, I started cloth diapering when my daughter was almost 3 months old and often call it my “deployment hobby” as my husband deployed to Iraq the day my daughter turned 2 months old. I had never considered cloth diapering while I was pregnant, although I registered for and sought after organic and eco-friendly products. I read dozens of pregnancy books and magazines, but was never exposed to modern cloth diapers until I was flipping through a magazine one morning shortly after my husband had gone overseas. It was a parenting or baby magazine and saw a picture of a Swaddlebees Econappi on one of the pages. It was a small picture with a small caption, but it was enough to grab my attention and I thought “I want this”, “I need to learn more about what cloth diapering is all about” and “how did I not know about this before!”

I hopped online later that day and that is when my research and cloth diaper obsession started… and it hasn’t ended to this day! I continue to search for new brands, innovations, styles, fabrics and anything else I can discover about the world of cloth diapering. I didn’t have the intention to have a blog about cloth diapers when I started this journey and had no idea that it would become a part of my daily life (outside of the diaper changes of course). My husband jokingly asks me on a regular basis, “what do you love more than cloth diapers”? Although the answer is obvious, cloth diapers are something that I have become very passionate about and have a lot of fun exploring and researching.

Since I didn’t have many friends who cloth diapered when I started in July 2008, I gathered most of my information and purchased most of my diapers online. Although I was able to research a lot of information online, I saw that there was a need in the cloth diapering community for reviews that were detailed, easy to navigate and where it was clear what the reviewer’s experiences were. I had found a few sites where reviews were posted, but quickly because frustrated that it often seemed it was only the people that passionately loved or hated a product that took the time to write reviews. I was also skeptical at what the reviewers were comparing the products to, as they may have been using an additive-filled detergent or had never used a pocket diaper before etc. After spending hundreds of hours online reading so many different sites, I wished there was a resource where more information was gathered in one place.

The Cloth Diaper Report blog was started after 8 months of cloth diapering my daughter as I wanted to provide that resource that I wish existed to others. After purchasing 10-12 brands by that point, which was more than anyone I personally knew, I started the blog so that other parents could read reviews of the various brands and styles knowing exactly what brands I had tried, detergents I used, and cloth diapering knowledge I had. It wasn’t until late in the spring of 2009 that I realized the potential my blog had and the direction I wanted to take it in. Although I have since discovered more cloth diaper resources and blogs, some of which I wish I discovered in the beginning, I still feel that my blog offers something unique and hope to continue to be a useful resource to families.

My current goals for my blog include my original mission to provide reviews of cloth diaper brands, styles and related topics; however, I also have expanded my goals and mission from my humble beginnings. I hope to be a source of product announcements, sales, other family friendly products and a place where families can also get coupon codes or have their luck at winning free diapers and other goodies. I also have weekly columns like “Diaper Tips Tuesday” that offer other families the opportunity to chime in with questions and tips and a resources section that lists dozens of different cloth diaper, eco-friendly and family friendly resources. I never thought I would be reviewing, blogging and literally spending dozens of hours a week reviewing, networking, writing and maintaining my site. I hope to continue to regularly improve my site, expand my content and spread awareness about cloth diapering and eco-conscious living to more families around the world.

15 comments:

i love reading your site, it's one of my go-to's when wanting to get an honest review...and also i am excited for this month's focus on laundry...always looking for new ways and better ideas to get my dipes clean and smelling great! Thanks for sharing your story!

I think it's amazing what you're doing! I am a firm believer that the more people we make aware of cloth diapering (the benefits, the styles, how easy it is, etc) the more people we can "convert" which of course would be great for our environment and for all the little tushes in diapers :) I think most people use disposables because they don't know that they really have another option. I try to spread the word as well. My sister in law and a friend of mine in real life both use cloth diapers because of what I've taught them and shown them :) Keep up the good work!

Thank you, Emi for the time you spend sharing your information! I enjoy reading The Cloth Diaper Report. I have learned about a lot of great products, including my new favorite craft book, "Sewing Green."

I love The Cloth Diaper Report Blog. I think it was one of my first blogs that I came across when I was looking for information on cloth diapers. I have also been luck enought to win some of the diapers that she has reviewed and had giveaways on. THanks Emi for all you do!!

I sure wish I had known about CDing earlier. I switched when my DS was 6 months. I found a blog that showed how one "regular" mom did it-and I thought to myself-I can do that! So I did the research and ordered a few trials- I am so glad I did! Is there any paper diaper as cute? Definitely not any as good for your baby or the earth.